Black Feathers
by BlackCrucifix
Summary: Life would be too easy if it went as planned, and Ventus knew that. But he had yet to experience how fast a carefree life could turn into the worst possible nightmare by throwing himself into a chaos he would be unable to escape ever again. [VanVen]
1. Beginning of the End

_Yo! This is originally a german story, and I'm still working on it, but I figured translating it to improve my vocabulary couldn't hurt, right? XD_

* * *

 _Well, of course it would be ridiculously enjoyable if my life went like plan just one little time._

 _How did I even manage to get myself into this mess? Oh, yeah..._

Blazing sunbeams, lushy shimmering flowers and a beautiful fountain filled with crystal clear water were almost too much of a good thing to be real. Could he have found his place, at last? The place he belonged?

It was a little too good to be true, knowing that home had never really felt like it should have. His own reflection in the water reminded him of the family he left behind, the sad faces, the chastened mood, and still neither the pain nor the loneliness he had expected set in. If anything, they knew he was alright. And he knew they were.

And had the first day been great! Everyone was so nice and intelligent, worth his time. Finally something that he was interested in. The beautiful environment, almost like paradise, could it be more lovely? Probably not.

This place made him lose any will to have a home. Made him want to stay here any and every second he could. Of course he knew that wouldn't work out, especially with the things he planned.

He would still make it his personal haven, the place he could come to whenever he felt bad. His apartment wasn't far from here anyways, so it made sense.

Speaking of it, he should probably go there now. With all his excitement and nervousness he had had lost his appetite in the last days so he was pretty short on supplies. Unfortunately, he was equally short on money, so food was luxury for him at the moment.

Naturally, he could ask his parents but he didn't really want to bother them with this. They already helped him more than enough dispite the fact that they weren't exactly happy with his choice of studies.

He sighed and got up to leave his newly found sanctuary in order to get himself something to eat at home. The way out of the gorgeous park looked to him as if it were made out of pure gold. How lucky he was to live that near to a place like this.

 _Wasn't destiny beautiful sometimes?_

This city was pure idyll, pure life, pure emotion. There were so many happy people it almost felt like the unhappy ones were non-existent. It was ironic. He had never been one to believe in perfection.

Not far now, he thought while thinking through what he was going to eat for the next week or so. Bread, butter, confiture, so far so good. Breakfast was important. He didn't really care much about the evening, he was a terrible cook so packet soup would probably do. He only worried about the university's canteen.

Oh well, maybe he wouldn't eat there at all!

He turned the corner and even before he saw what lay ahead of him, he felt a tingle, adrenaline, excitement and even anger flow through his body and stagnated for a moment, lost in shock, like a trance. Where did that come from? As his sight cleared up, he had a theory.

Because he would probably never in his life be able to forget those eyes. Gilded like heaven, veiled like hell.

„Ventus."

Icy cold wasn't enough to describe the tearing shiver running down his back. What had he feared more than to ever meet this guy again, for which he had only met him randomly at the university? The day would presumably have been too easy, too nice, too perfect.

 _Wasn't destiny nasty sometimes?_

He shook his head in disbelief. Shouldn't he have known it? Lady luck surely wasn't on his side anymore.

As if he were able to read his thoughts, Ventus's counterpart grinned thus sardonically that it almost caused him nausea.

„What's up?", the blonde asked trying to stay cool, hoping this guy was just mistaken in some way. Wanted to turn someone else's life into hell. He begged there was mercy for him somewhere.

„Oh, why so cold? I thought someone new, like you, would have trouble finding the way back home."

„Err...no, I'm fine..."

„What a pity."

The barely taller man took a few steps back in the direction he had just come from and in the last second, Ventus hoped he just wouldn't stop. But again, he was disappointed. Instead, the guy stopped exactly where Ven had hoped he wouldn't. In front of the house in which his own apartment lay.

Oh heaven, what had he gotten himself into this time? How did this weird guy know...how? It wasn't like the university was allowed to hand out his personal data just like that. It was damn scary...

„I guess you'll have to entertain me in another way then, now that I was willing to make it for you."

„Why would I do that?"

„You sure don't want to get on my bad side, do you?"

The only thing Ven knew was that he wanted was to get off of the street because this guy just really freaked him out. Even the way he spoke. So...narcistically.

Thus he walked past the guy, knowing he would follow him. That wasn't good to begin with, but he had a weird feeling that locking him out wouldn't be the best idea either. He wasn't good with strangers, especially with putting them in their place.

This was the main reason he didn't exactly see any chance to keep him out of his apartment. It was a strangling feeling. He had to call the police, they would settle this, right?

„You sure don't care about tidying up once in a while, do you?", he was asked the second they got in and would have countered something but that guy had already let himself drop on the sofa. How could one person be that...cheeky? Only his black hair, that spiky mess, was visible over the backrest of the furniture. They didn't look soft and curly like his own, rather brutal and dangerous. Actually fitting. Still, this adolescent style just didn't quite want to fit him.

Ven's problem was another one, though. He walked around the sofa and saw what he had feared to see. Feet. No, even worse, shoes. On his sofa. Dirty shoes. That did it, he was angered to the maximum and without any warning pulled the guy's feet off of the fabric.

„Wow. There is temper inside you after all."

„Look, if you really have to get on my nerves, just leave the furniture alone!"

„Whatever."

By the looks of it, the raven had already gotten bored in this place anyway, got up and went to the kitchen without even asking for permission. Exactly how dumb was Ven to let this happen? What stopped him from kicking this guy out of his apartment?

„The fridge is empty. Is there any explainable reason for this circumstance?"

„Ever heard of financial difficulties? Stupid. I didn't even allow you to touch anything. Just eat at home. What do you what from me?"

„Could you stop being so uptight? Gee, you're complicated."

With those words the monster approached him again, laying a hand on his shoulder. It burned without hurting him and he didn't like it. As if being in a trance, Ventus only noticed what happened when he saw something dangling before his eyes – keys. _His_ keys.

„And now be good until I get back. Maybe I'll bring something better than bread that almost walks off on its own", the raven said with his dark, evil tone.

Not even when the door snapped was Ventus able to move but a single muscle.

What the hell had gotten into him? Had his panic, his confusion really been enormous enough to let all of this happen?

Something went terribly wrong. And at this point, he didn't even know by which overwhelming means.

 _Wasn't destiny awfully suffocating sometimes?_


	2. Calm before the Storm

_Hiii. :D Woohoo, the first real chapter.  
I don't really have much to say, only that I feel like I'm beginning to get a feeling for the English language... I hope C:_

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Forty-five minutes and a heavy shock - "stop sneaking up on me!" - later, Ven had to admit that his fridge looked a little more stuffed than before. He wasn't sure if he should ask what this was all about.

And this guy...oh yeah.

"What's your name anyways?", he asked and soon regretted it. The raven gazed at him as if he had said something terribly wrong. Luckily, his expression eased fast.

"Call me whatever you want." Oh well.

"You can't even be serious in the slightest."

"I am. What's the first name that comes to your mind when looking at me?"

"Jack the Ripper."

To be honest, that wasn't exactly true. Ventus couldn't think of a name instead of titles. What came to his mind were words like _psychopath_ or _stalker_.

"Fine, then I'll be Jack the Ripper from now on."

What a jerk. But Ven wasn't finished yet. For some strange reason, this parasite – another nice nickname – had settled down in his apartment, but he would make sure to end that soon.

"And what do you want from me? How did you even know where I live? I'm still having problems finding the way from time to time."

"Did I know? Maybe I just guessed pretty good." He didn't even put effort into making it sound honest, which drove Ven even madder. He remembered kids in his classes tormenting him for stupid things and he had been glad to leave all that behind.

"Listen here, I don't find this funny at all. I'll get you out of here, even if it's the last thing I'll ever do." With that, he went over to the phone, picked it up and started calling the police.

For a second he wondered that the raven didn't even try to stop him, but before he could feel any joy about it, he lost ground, was seized by the neck and brutally pressed against the wall.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you. No need to get both of us in trouble, right?"

"Both of us?! There is no _us_! There's me who just wants to be left in peace and you who doesn't only stalk me but also breaks into my apartment and refuses to leave. Let go of me!"

The raven didn't do Ven's bidding. He had known that something was terribly wrong about that guy, but this was way too much.

His arms were pinned against his back so he couldn't use them to fight back. His legs were blocked as well so he didn't really see a way out of this. Great.

"What the hell do you want from me, goddamn it?!"

"Apart from stopping to scream at me, you could just shut up and do what I tell you to. Is that too much to ask?"

"Wait until you fall asleep."

He was so mad, mad and frightened, and the evil laugh he was gifted didn't really lighten up his mood.

"Adorable, aren't you? You don't seem to understand, but I could kill you right here and now without anyone noticing."

He sighed as if he had said too much and turned away his head. Luckily for him, Ventus had no clue what those words meant.

"What are you talking about? Of course my family would notice if they never heard of me again, stupid."

"You really don't understand. No one would ever know I did it. Let alone why I did it. And now shut up."

He let go and Ven had to reach for the wall behind himself to not fall over. What had he gotten himself into? Or rather: Had he gotten himself into it? After all, he hadn't made the decision to tell this guy where he lived. He had just known, and Ventus had no idea why or how.

As if nothing had happened, that guy just walked over to the sofa and let himself fall onto it again. Ven decided to accept his fate for the moment. It was like something stopped him from complaining any further.

"You could at least tell me your real name then."

"No, I can't. But how about this: You just call me Vanitas. Handpicked by myself, just like a real name, don't you think?"

"Parents pick those."

He knew his answer wasn't needed since the statement itself had never been for real. But to be honest, he didn't really care either. Instead, he rubbed his shoulder which still hurt.

"You don't happen to have something modern like...I don't know, a TV? We could start off with matches and work our way up."

"Funny."

He sure as hell wasn't stupid enough to give an answer to that question. Of course he had a TV, it was still in the storeroom though.

Still trying to shake of the shock of the situation, he noticed that this guy had already changed back to normal as if nothing had ever happened. Ven wondered. Had he really become one of those victims in Hollywood-movies? His life really seemed to love him.

Maybe he should try some of the food he gained from this jerk. And where did he even get the money? Why didn't he live in his own apartment and instead bothered Ven? So many questions but no answers so far.

Ven decided that it didn't matter for now and headed for the kitchen. If it hadn't been for the psychopath sitting on his sofa right now, he would almost have been happy for not having to ask his parents for money. But how did they say? Life ain't easy.

Maybe if he went to the university tomorrow, things would settle themselves. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he had hit his head somewhere...

But there was still something he wanted to settle no matter what.

"Say, you didn't plan on staying for long, right?"

"Oh, maybe just a few months."

"Just...what? Okay, listen, I'll try this rationally. Even if I wanted that – and I can assure you that I don't-"

"You're breaking my heart."

"...it wouldn't even make sense. This apartment is fitted to one person only, and if you think I'll give up half of the bathroom and maybe even my bed...well, think again!"

This had to be convincing, right?!

"I don't care. I'll find a way to make myself comfortable."

Great. Just plain awesome. He could try running away. Leave everything behind and go find the police. But for a reason he couldn't explain to himself, it felt like a pretty bad idea.

Without wasting even one more word on this weirdo, he left the living room for the kitchen. He was pretty hungry and even though cooking really wasn't something he wasn't good at, he didn't have much of a choice.

He should probably pore over some books with cooking advice in them, but right now, he had loads of other problems. And one of those decided to stand millimeters away from him the second he turned around which made him scream like a little girl.

"What the hell are you doing?!", he screeched and jinked. Did he need someone to scare him like that? No! But Vanitas really didn't seem to care. Instead, he cast a disgusted gaze in the pot and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you always cook this...fancy?"

"Not forcing you to eat any."

"Wise decision."

Annoyed, Ventus watched Vanitas rummaging in the cupboards, probably looking for something decent to eat. He decided not to complain because it wasn't really his food after all and he was kind of glad to have it.

"So...what exactly are you doing there?"

"What does it look like? I'm trying to find something I can actually eat. Are you sure you're able to live on your own?"

Way better than with you, Ven thought but didn't dare to say it. He wasn't up to another...fight by now.

"Do whatever you like", he said sarcastically and headed for his bedroom to get ready to sleep. Could this please just be a terrible nightmare?

Back in the kitchen he found himself, unbelievable but true, laughing at how Vanitas sat in front of the oven like a little child on Christmas waiting for their present.

"I'm pretty sure you can't force it to be done by staring at it. Where are my..."

Where were the noodles he had left on the hotplate? Seriously, he just wanted something to eat.

"I told you I wasn't going to eat that. Just wait."

Oh well, he probably hooked himself an expert chef here. Wasn't that great?

"You know, there's something I don't understand."

"Like what?"

"You kind of burgle me, threaten me, refuse to leave but you don't plan on either robbing or killing me, right?"

"Well, I could probably find a reason to do so if you wanted me to."

"...Not interested. Still, why?"

"Have you really already forgotten that?"

Forgotten what? He frowned in confusion. He did make it sound serious although you could never be sure.

"I don't like to repeat myself. You'll just have to remember by yourself, I guess."

And that was the only explanation he was going to get, wasn't it? How very enlightening. Ventus really had no idea what to remember since the only time he had spoken to this creep before had been right in front of the university.

He gave up and dropped onto one of the kitchen chairs. Saying that he was hungry would be an understatement. Maybe that was part of the reason he couldn't think clearly.

But even half an hour later and with a filled tummy – he sure as hell wasn't going to admit how good the stuff had tasted – he had no idea what this was all about. And he also started to doubt that he should actually know.

Tomorrow, he would think about getting rid of Vanitas for good. He wasn't as annoying as Ven had feared, but that didn't make him less of a creepy stalker.

But for now, the blonde would play nice and let this guy sleep on the sofa. Just this once.

He entered the living room, armed with bedding and found Vanitas browsing through a book Ven needed for the university, a kind of incredulous expression on his face.

"Wouldn't you need something like a minimum-IQ for this? Who did you steal that from?", he was told with a sardonic grin.

Ven didn't find that funny at all but said nothing. Hopefully, he'd find that on its original place the next day.

He dropped the stuff in his hands and backed off to his own room, not sure why he wasn't so damn afraid that he jumped out of the window.

No, he didn't even feel like he was in danger, as weird as it sounded.

And suddenly, he got the strange feeling that he had forgotten something very important.


	3. Under Observation

Sadly, this weird situation didn't turn out to be a bad nightmare but bitter reality. Well, in the end, Ventus hadn't been stupid enough to actually hope for the former.

Vanitas' encouraging words, telling Ven not to let anyone kill him, hadn't changed the latter's mood for the better.

Not that day, not the next and not even a week later had he been able to get rid of this jerk, whatever he tried.

Now, eight days after the first appearance of the raven, Ven sat in one of the lounges of the university, at the same table as two other young men who were easily able so entertain the whole room with their loud vocal organs.

But actually, Ventus didn't mind. Sometimes they even said something funny which made him laugh, although he wasn't really able to focus on it. He was still trying to find a way to divest himself of Vanitas without getting in trouble – if that was even possible.

Moreover, he felt like someone watched him the whole day, but whenever he took a look around, he saw nothing special or extraordinary.

He was knocked out of the skies by one of the brunette guys saying his name.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you weren't interested in this!"

The boy handed him a piece of paper, a flyer to be more concrete, which advertised some kind of student party.

"I'm not really into that stuff. Sorry", he replied with an apologizing smile that seemed to surprised his opposite, but he didn't care. He hadn't been pigeon-holed by anyone yet for being a little antisocial, but right know, he couldn't care less. Thinking about it, he wasn't even sure if they knew what he studied, because hadn't met them in one of his classes, but instead in one of the inner yards.

"Well, gotta go, see you around", he said and got up to attend his next class.

"Sure, see ya!"

He was thrown two wide grins. Funny, these guys really seemed happy all day.

Shortly before he arrived at the course room, he noticed that he missed some of the books, cursed and turned around to go find his locker first.

Opening it, he was greeted by chaos. Seriously, how had he devastated this thing in less then ten days, especially since the only things he had in it were books and papers?

What concerned him even more was one sheet on top of everything else that he definitely hadn't put inside. That was the bad thing about those letter slots the lockers had. Any idiot was able to put something in as long as it was small enough.

He elevated the sheet, although a little worried, and unfolded it, taking a look around. Who could have put it inside? Sadly, the message on it not only worsened his mood but also corroborated his suspicion of being stalked.

 _If I were you, I'd watch my every step._

Wasn't this just plain awesome? Had he ever really hoped that his life would turn back to normal again? Besides not being too happy about being threatened, he didn't even have an idea on who would write him something like this.

Maybe it was a stupid joke someone decided to pull on him out of all people? Who on earth could even know that this was exactly his locker? Who would even _care_ about that? Maybe the person had been mistaken. Well, truth be told, he didn't really believe that himself, but he also had no other explanation.

For a second, he considered blaming Vanitas, but first, he didn't even seem to study, and second, why should he? If he really wanted to freak Ventus out, there would be lots of ways less troublesome for the raven.

So, what was he supposed to do? Taking a look around, he noticed that he was alone. No one there who could hurt him. But also no one who could help him.

Maybe it was best to just go to his course and forget about all this. Or probably report about it first, then ignore it. Because if it was addressed to someone else, this someone would be in danger as well.

But even trying to shrug it all of as a mistake didn't ease his morning at all. He went to all classes and reported about what happened, but not without a bad feeling in his stomach which kept him busy even when he decided to finally go home.  
Thinking about home, he realized that even more trouble waited for him there. Fortunately enough, his home-problem didn't yet threaten his every move.

And he was to be surprised yet again, luckily in a less creepy way than before.

"What are you...how the hell did this TV get here?!"

It _definitely_ wasn't his own which he hadn't had the time for. No, this was a fairly new and probably extremely expensive model. What the hell...?!

"Well, since you don't seem to have something like this, I thought I might as well take remedial action and buy one myself. Don't you dare complaining, it's one of the newest."

"How in hell are you able to pay for something like this? And how did you get it here?"

"You cannot be serious about the second question. That has been possible by telephone for about 20 years by now and at least half of that time, you can also buy stuff on the internet."

"And how did you pay for it?!"

"You'd love to know, hm?"

How he would have _loved_ to smash that stupid, arrogant grin out of the raven's face. But he accepted that he wouldn't even have a chance to touch him before being beat up and thus didn't try. Luckily, he knew that he sure as hell didn't have enough money for something like this, so Vanitas couldn't have stolen any of that.

He didn't really care about what was on TV right know, but he saw a letter – fortunately unopened – addressed to him in his mom's handwriting.  
Happy about good news, he opened it and found himself smiling about the unimportant things she wrote. Yeah, they were all happy and healthy which made him a little happier, too. It was something, wasn't it?  
He took a look out of the window and sighed. All of this really exhausted him. It wasn't like he was sleepy, but extremely tired, so he just dropped onto the sofa and closed his eyes.

"Are you alright?" _Wow_ , he thought, _you almost sounded concerned instead of mischievous_ , but didn't say it loud. Yeah, great. Then he noticed something.

"Say, you didn't leave the apartment in all this time, did you?" Actually, he knew the answer, and he didn't like it at all.

"Why wouldn't I have?"

"Because", he emphasized the word sarcastically, "there is but one key to this apartment and I surely know that one to be in my pocket."

"Oh, seems like you missed this one."

With that, Vanitas pulled two keys identical to Ven's out of his own pocket, probably for both front door and apartment. This couldn't even be...

"You're kidding, aren't you? Not even you can be this... _cheeky_!"

"What's the matter? Don't you think it's just fair we're both able to walk in and out to our likings?"

"Oh, hell no! I don't think that's fair at all! This is my apartment, _mine!_ I don't even know you!"

"Maybe not. But I know you. Trust me, that's sufficient for now."

Well, Ventus didn't think so. Maybe it had been Vanitas after all who pulled of that stupid letter-prank. For the last time, no! He wasn't going to fall for this idiocy!

He really wasn't one to believe that things just settled themselves if you let them, but he wasn't in the mood to find a way to end this. And to be honest, the possibility of Vanitas being the one to blame for his locker-incident made it all a little less scary.


End file.
